Quick update for our community via a Media Alert that went out this morning. Rebecca Barkin is now CEO of Lamina1, effective immediately.
See below for more info about the new role & promotion. For deeper reading, see “Blockchain, The New Jezebel” — her first post as CEO.
LOS ANGELES — Lamina1, the layer 1 blockchain optimized for the Open Metaverse, has promoted President Rebecca Barkin to Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. The immersive tech executive brings two decades of IoT, augmented reality, and Metaverse experience and was previously hired as President by Lamina1 co-founders Neal Stephenson and Peter Vessenes in August 2022.
As CEO, Barkin will now oversee all business operations for Lamina1, including partnerships, fundraising efforts, developer relations and the execution of the company’s product roadmap. Stephenson and Vessenes will remain embedded in the company as Chairman & Executive Chairman, respectively, with a continued commitment to further the company’s missions and goals.
“My last few months at Lamina1 have been nothing short of remarkable,” said Barkin. “Together, our small but mighty team released our first whitepaper, secured seed funding and critically early partnerships, and laid the groundwork for a new chain purpose-built for creators of the Open Metaverse — all in one of the toughest markets out there. As we prepare to release Testnet to our community and sharpen our focus on delivering a protocol that is efficient, performant, and easy to use, I’m honored and thrilled to step up to the challenge.”
“It’s been our plan from the beginning to entrust the leadership and management of Lamina1 to a first-class executive,” said Lamina1 Co-Founder & Chairman, Neal Stephenson. “When Rebecca joined us as President we hoped she would move up to CEO. Everything we’ve seen since then makes it clear that this is the right choice.”
“Rebecca’s leadership, vision, and skills have been integral to Lamina1 since the day she started,” said Lamina1 Co-Founder & Executive Chairman, Peter Vessenes. “She’s been instrumental in bringing HTC and other to-be-announced partners into the L1 ecosystem and is the core of our team. I’m super stoked to see what she gets done for the entire community in 2023.”
Founded in June 2022, Lamina1 is the first layer-1 blockchain optimized for the Open Metaverse. Lamina released version 1 of its whitepaper in September 2022 and publicly released its Testnet to the community earlier this month.
More on Rebecca Barkin
Rebecca Barkin is President and CEO of Lamina1, a Layer one blockchain optimized for the Metaverse and its makers. Barkin brings 20+ years of experience leading strategy, design, and development at the intersection of emerging technology and entertainment.
Prior to joining Lamina1, Barkin served as VP of Content Strategy & Partner Solutions at the groundbreaking $2B immersive venue Madison Square Garden Sphere. As Vice President at Augmented Reality pioneer Magic Leap, she drove the development of a slate of launch applications like the award-winning immersive music experience Tónandi, as well as branded content experiences with premium partners like Alibaba (Tokyo Olympics), Warner Bros (Fantastic Beasts), and HBO (Game of Thrones). Later, as Vice President of Brand & Platform Design, she led the redesign of both the operating system and brand for the enterprise-focused Magic Leap 2 (winner of multiple design awards).
Prior to Magic Leap, she led GTM strategy for pioneering computer vision & AI company Nod Labs which developed foundational 6Dof tracking technology to enable VR and AR. She’s held leadership roles at Genius Products, Dell Computers, and Silicon Valley startup Lyve (acquired by Seagate), where she’s been responsible for brand and strategic partnerships. Since starting her career at EMI-Capitol Records, Barkin has helped companies big and small embrace transformative new technologies and bring them to market in partnership with beloved brands and artists.
